I bruise pretty easily so it's not a huge surprise that sticking a needle in my vein and pumping in meth would leave some marks on me but these bruises are ridiculous. I am fairly new to the needle, it's only been about a week, and I have so far had others do the work for me, but already both my forearms and the backs of both my hands are covered in painful purple and yellow bruises. They seem to start to fade after 2 days and be gone by the 4th day. I know that the worst 2 were caused by the needle poking all the way through my veins, but the rest of them were successful as far as I can tell, so what gives?

Is there any way to prevent/reduce the bruising? Besides the obvious "dont IV meth"?

It is too freakin hot out to be wearing long sleeves.

Hear Me Roar

23-06-2012, 06:14

Pressure man, the longer you keep pressure on the injection site, the less bruising there will be. The pressure helps the blood clot to seal the gap, which in turn lets less blood out, causing a lesser bruise. Doctors recommend 5minutes.
Also, depending on where your injecting, try an keep your arm raised afterwards, an if you really want a faint bruise, apply something cold.

Hope this helps,

Peace

KhyaBean

23-06-2012, 06:29

I have been doing the arm above my head thing and applying pressure, though probably for more like 1 minute instead of 5. Also I've been applying heat instead of cold cause It feels good to run it under warm water, but I will try cold next time. Thanks!

Swimmingdancer

23-06-2012, 07:06

Make sure you are filtering your drugs properly, using new needles for every poke (needles dull super fast), and rotating your injection sites. Applying a cool cloth soon after injecting may help it bruise less, but once you already have bruising you want to apply a warm cloth to the bruised areas. Put some arnica gel on them. I've also found massaging the area under a hot shower to be helpful in getting the bruises to disappear faster, sometimes I would use a loofah or body brush.

Captain.Heroin

23-06-2012, 15:39

I'm not sure why you are bruising so much; what gauge needle are you using? Larger gauges = bigger the bruise.

Some veins tend to bruise worse than others as well.

Mr.Scagnattie

23-06-2012, 22:58

Where are you injecting? Like Captain said, that has an impact on how bad the bruising is or isn't. Also, you want to be sure your using a fresh syringe every time. If you are having trouble hitting and need to pull the rig back out before going in again, get a new rig. Somebody is probably going to post this picture, so I'll just go ahead and do it.

http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/image.php?&aid=2905&needle.jpg

As you can tell, if you're reusing your shit..you're gonna bruise.

Also, try and use smaller gauged needles, loosen the tourniquet before you inject, and pull the needle out at the same angle you entered very gently.

Znegative

23-06-2012, 23:49

Yes, and we're you using a tourniquet? If so, was it taken off once the vein was registered?? I personally find using them to be more harm then help but for some people it's the only way they can hit. I would use the smallest gauge needle available like others have said, and I wouldn't shoot into my hands. If you're new to IV, there is no reason to use such a place to inject meth. Even when you don't miss, the hands bruise very easily as there is not as much muscle or fatty tissue in that area.

KhyaBean

24-06-2012, 05:33

Not sure what gauge needles they are but they are small enough that the pain from sticking them in is minimal, and I still make phlebotomists use a butterfly to take my blood. I have not prepared a shot yet, only watched it be done, and I've not injected myself either. I have used a tourniquet, and I loosen it after it registers.

I wouldn't shoot into my hands. If you're new to IV, there is no reason to use such a place to inject meth.

I have really bad veins and it's one of the easiest places to stick for me. Even getting lab work done for the drs I ask them to do my hands because I would rather get stuck once or twice in the hand even though it hurts a little more. It is better than getting stuck six or seven times and then ending up in my hands anyways.

Znegative

24-06-2012, 06:29

Wow, that's really unfortunate. The hands are better than the legs/feet/everything-else-but-arms, yet still not ideal. It's important to use a 30g needle, because the veins on the back of the hand are smaller and weaker than the veins in the arm. The smaller veins can actually be imploded by registering to quickly, causing a suction which pulls the inner lining of the veins together. Likewise, injecting too fast can erupt small veins. However there are a few good ones on the back of the hand that are pretty dependable, such as the cephalic and the basilic.

Captain.Heroin

24-06-2012, 08:50

Can you post some pictures of the bruises?

KhyaBean

26-06-2012, 16:51

Can you post some pictures of the bruises?

I haven't IV'd in a few days so all of my bruises are faded but I will probably have a picture of new ones soon...the needle has become very hard to resist very quickly. I only stayed away for these past few days because my friend who helps me was out of town and I have avoided learning how to do it myself in an effort to keep myself from doing it every day. I used to be so against it and now it is all I want :/